


A New Leaf

by ohshescrazy



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance, Summer, Summer Camp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-26
Updated: 2014-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-12 22:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/496502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohshescrazy/pseuds/ohshescrazy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel decides that she wants to turn over a new leaf, starting by escaping Lima and going to work at a summer camp she went to as a kid. So what's going to happen when someone she never expected from Lima turns up?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's A New Day

Rachel Berry was nothing if not goal driven. And her goal for this summer? She was going to make sure that she firmly put the drama of the past two school years behind her. This summer was going to be hers. She just knew it. She had set everything up months ago, the job, the living arrangements everything. She was going to be spending the next two months at her old summer camp as a counselor. She would be getting payed to sing everyday working in their singing program, and the best part of all of it would be that she wouldn’t have to run into anybody from Lima. ‘Yes, this summer is going to be exactly what I need.’ Rachel thought as she looked around her room going through her last minute check lists to make sure she had absolutely everything that she would require.  
She knew what others thought of her, and she wasn’t really as impervious to their insults as she pretended to be. She knew she was pushy and that others often saw her as being abrasive, but she hadn’t always been like that. She blamed it on the pressures of high school and trying to be something that she felt she should have been. But that was last year...and the year before that, but today was a new day, and Rachel Berry had big plans to move forward.  
She smiled to herself as she walked to the hallway outside her room and shut the door, seeing it as a metaphor for shutting the door to her past and walking into the future, after all metaphors are very important. She hummed to herself as she skipped down the stairs to where her father Hiram was waiting with her suitcases.  
“Ready to go baby girl?” Rachel smiled and nodded, “Of course Daddy, I’ve been ready since the last day of school. Let’s blow this popsicle stand!” Hiram chuckled at his daughters enthusiasm as he opened the front door and picked up the hot pink duffle bag. “I wish your father would have been able to join us, but you know how his clients can be.” Rachel sighed as he climbed into the front seat of Hiram’s car, she did indeed know how hard her Dad worked, she got her drive from him. “It’s ok Daddy, you and Dad can come visit on the parents weekends.” Hiram nodded in response as he pulled out of the Berry driveway.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The drive was longer than she remembered, but she recognized the gates as soon as her dad turned off the highway. She was so ready to be back here again. This was the one place where Rachel felt like she could truly be herself. She was accepted here, people recognized her talent without feeling that they had to put up a fight about it, and there were others here who had talents that could rival hers. Her grin grew even wider as she got out of the car and breathed in deeply. This was her favorite place in the entire world. She grabbed her back pack from the back seat and turned to her dad who had her duffel bag in hand “Thank you Daddy for driving me.” Hiram smiled and tucked the bags strap onto Rachel's’ shoulder, he pulled her in for a hug “No problem princess. Your father and I will come down in a few weeks. Call us if you need anything before then. Be good and stay out of trouble.” Rachel smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek “Will do Daddy. Love you, stay safe.” and with that, Hiram got back into his SUV and waved once more before pulling away.  
The main office was the same and Rachel smiled as she found herself amongst the other dozens of pictures on the wall of ‘Future Stars’. She set down her bags and continued to look around the small front office. “Well as I live and breathe, if it isn’t Rachel Berry! I had heard you were coming back this year, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up!” cried a voice from behind her. Rachel turned to see a small redheaded woman making her way toward her from the back offices, “Ms. Adelaide! It’s so good to see you!” Rachel beamed at the tiny woman. Ms. Adelaide Fargo was one of Rachel’s idols. This woman had worked in every avenue of the business, if you were lucky enough to gain her respect, there were great chances that your career would do amazing things. Adelaide reached up and took Rachel by the shoulders “We have missed you these past few years, my dear. We are glad to have you back”.  
Rachel smiled her widest smile, “It is fantastic to be back Ms. Adelaide.” With that Adelaide released Rachel and moved back towards her office. “I have your keys here, along with your schedule and all your other goodies that you’ll need this summer. As I’m sure you probably recall, the girls stay on the East side of the camp while the boys are on the West. We have group sessions throughout the day, this summer you’ll be handling some of the usual voice lessons, and we thought that we might try you out with one of our newer ideas, a session on the art of mixing acoustic guitar and voice.” Rachel looked up at this with raised brows, she didn’t know how to play the guitar, she was good but she highly doubted she would be able to magically pick up the skill in time to adequately teach it. Adelaide giggled at this. “Oh don’t worry dear, we don’t expect you to teach the guitar part of the class. We have found quite the talented little musician for that. He’ll be your co-teacher.” Rachel nodded, she could easily work with other people. Adelaide continued, “Let’s see. Ah yes. You’ll be staying in cabin 2. And the counselor cabins are different from the cabins that the kids stay in, they’re divided by gender this year because of our restricted space. You’ll have a roommate, and then in the room next to yours will be two male counselors. It’s all very cramped....but what can you do what with such tight budgets, eh?” Ms. Adelaide smiled and Rachel just nodded. “So! I think that’s everything. We have our welcome bonfire tonight, so why don’t you go ahead and get settled into your cabin?” Rachel stood and gave Ms. Adelaide another hug before grabbing her keys and packet of papers from the desk and heading out. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rachel unlocked her cabin door, it looked like she was the first to arrive, which was just fine with her. She dropped her bags on the bed she wanted, and started to unpack. She had absolutely no idea who was going to be the other counselor that she was going to room with. She hoped that it would be someone she knew from previous summers. She was half way done when she heard the doorknob jiggle as someone struggled to get the door open. As soon as the door opened Rachel immediately recognized the tall lanky frame of someone she had in fact known from previous summers.  
“Ohmigod!!! Rae?!?! I didn’t know you were working here this summer!! It’s so amazing to see you! It’s been forever!” Teasley Mai Howard had been a constant fixture in Rachel’s life up until a few years ago when her parents had up and decided that they were going to move to Toronto. They had tried keeping in touch, but slowly things got awkward. It’s hard trying to maintain a friendship when you’re young and you live in separate countries.  
Rachel dropped what she was doing to help Teasley through the door. Once inside with her bags all situated, Rachel looked up at the girl who she had once considered to be her best friend. She looked almost exactly as she had when they were little; same curly black hair, same wide green eyes, same pale skin with the tons of freckles. Teasley laughed at Rachel’s appraisal and pulled the smaller girl into a tight hug “Lord I’ve missed you girl. We have so much to catch up on.” Rachel laughed, “Yes. Yes we do.”  
They continued to unpack while catching up on how much life had changed in the past four years. It turned out that Teasley was also in her high school’s version of Glee club, but where she lived, it was much cooler and much more respected than the Glee club at McKinley. Teasley was appalled to hear the stories that Rachel told her, she was frankly surprised that her friend put up with it at all.  
Rachel was relieved that it seemed that even after being separated for four years, the friendship that existed between herself and Teasley seemed to flow as naturally as it did when they were ten. She felt more at ease than she had been in years.  
She looked over at the clock surprised to see that it was already 5pm “Ah crap, look at the time, we should get ready for the bonfire, we wouldn’t want to be late.” Both girls sighed as they got up from their seats on the floor, moving towards their respective dressers. “Shorts and a tee, right Rae?” Teasley held up her selections. The tee was an old camp tee, and the shorts were a worn looking pair of Daisy Duke’s. Rachel nodded “Sure. Should I wear the same?” She hadn’t worn jeans, let alone Daisy Duke’s in.....a while. Teasley scrunched her brow, “Rae. You told me that this summer was going to be about you trying to find yourself again. That includes clothes.” Rachel nodded and retrieved the garments in question from the bottom of the drawer.  
The two dressed quickly, trying to avoid being late. They ran from the room, and towards the edge of the camps lake where the fire pit was located. It looked like they were the last ones there as they discreetly made their way up to the makeshift stage were the rest of the counselors and Ms. Adelaide were standing. The girls tried hard not to laugh as Adelaide stopped talking for a second to send them a glare.  
As soon as she continued giving her welcoming speech, Rachel started scanning the crowd of kids in front of them, and slowly her eyes made their way up to the stage to inspect the other counselors. Her eyes traveled down the line until they met a pair of hazel orbs that looked surprisingly familiar. “Noah?”


	2. You Can Go Your Own Way

His eyes had found her picture on the wall of ‘Future Stars’ like they were magnets. Of course she would of come here, of course it would look like she was one of their most celebrated alumni. He shook his head at the irony. All he had wanted for this summer was a chance to get out of the hell that is Lima Ohio. But no. It looked like even here there would be reminders of his past mistakes. He laughed a bit and shook his head again as the door to the cabin banged open again and two guys about his age came strolling in, “Hey you must be the Puckerman guy that my mom has been raving about for months. I’m Derek Fargo.” spoke the blonde one. Puck stuck out his hand to receive the dude’s hand shake, “And I’m Ayden Howard. Good to meet you, man.” this came from the slightly taller guy with the wavy black hair. Puck nodded, these two guys weren’t really what he was expecting to encounter here. He had totally been expecting to run into a couple replicas of the Jesse St. Douche guy from Vocal Adrenaline. But no, these guys seemed normal, they almost seemed like they would have fit right in to McKinley’s more popular crowd. “Hey. Nice to meet you too. I’m Noah Puckerman. Puck for short.” Both boys grinned at the totally awesome nickname.

Derek walked over to a door located towards the back of the small office “So my mom is out wandering or welcoming people or whatever, so she told me to come meet you so that I can give you your papers and make sure you get settled in and everything.” He unlocked the door and disappeared into what looked like another office for a second, returning with a set of keys and a pack of papers. “It looks like you’re going to be in charge of a guitar session and you’re going to get the co-teaching gig for the new acoustic session. Andddd it looks like you’re going to be rooming with Ayden. Here, let’s go to your guys’ cabin and wait for my roommate, and we can give you the low down on the camp.”

With one last look back at the wall of pictures, Puck set off after Derek and Ayden who were approaching a row of cabins in the middle of the camp.

Ayden unlocked one of the doors and then threw himself unceremoniously onto a bed while Derek lowered himself onto the floor, which left Puck to assume that the other bed in the cabin was his, so he threw his bags down and sat down. He looked over at the two boys who seemed so relaxed here. He knew that Derek was the son of Ms. Adelaide, the director of the camp, but he didn’t know too much more than that. And as for Ayden, well he knew nothing about him.

He sighed and leaned back onto the cabin wall, “So. Tell me about this camp.” Derek smiled from his position on the floor. “Well, my mom was working on Broadway when she found out she was pregnant with me. She knew she didn’t want to raise me in New York, so she uprooted Dad, who was a director, and moved to to the suburbs near Chicago. Then about a year later came the twins, my sisters Lilly and Clari...you’ll meet them later. My dad apparently decided that having three babies in the house at one time was too much, so he packed up and left us. Mom made sure that she took him for everything he had in the divorce settlement. It was awesome. And then when I was 5 and the girls were 4 she took that money and started this place, we’ve been here ever since.” Puck was a little overwhelmed. He wasn’t really used to people disclosing that much personal information after having just met them. It reminded him of Rachel. Puck then looked over at Ayden who had been texting non-stop throughout Derek’s little speech. Sensing the silence he looked up and said, “Uhhh...I’ve been coming here for drums since I was 7. My sister, Teasley too, she comes for dance. You’ll meet her at the bonfire with the other girls.” Puck nodded. It sounded like pretty much everybody who was working here had known each other forever. “So lemme get this straight, you guys have been coming here since you were little and you’re all related?”

Derek scoffed, “Well. Yeah. You’re the only new person, but naw man, we’re not all related, just me and the twins and Ayden and Teasley. Rae and Cam aren’t related to anybody.” Ayden perked up at the mention of the last two names “Wait. Rae’s back this year?” Derek smiled at his friends facial expression, it looked as if Ayden just found out that Christmas was coming early this year.

Puck was confused, “Who’s Rae?” Derek was still smiling over Ayden’s reaction as he answered Puck, “She’s this girl we’ve known forever. Really cool. Smokin’ hot. Got a voice of an angel. Ayden’s had a thing for her since we were 8. Too bad Cam called dibs and Teasley’s her best friend.”

Ayden scowled at that and started to argue over the legitimacy of a dibs being called on a girl at the age of 9, but Puck wasn’t really listening anymore. No. There was no way that this Rae girl could be Rachel Berry. Rachel Berry hated nicknames, she hated being called anything other than strictly Rachel. And Rachel wasn’t smokin’. Sure, she was pretty and had awesome legs, but no one wearing animal sweaters could ever really be defined as smokin’ hot.

Puck’s mental tirade ended as a muscular black guy walked into the cabin. “Cam, dude. Please tell Ayden here that he should still honor the dibs you called on Rae, otherwise you’ll end up breaking him in half.” Derek gestured to Ayden’s spot on the bed. Cam laughed at that and then glanced over at Puck, “Hey man, I’m Cam.” Puck shook his hand, “Puck, nice to meet you.”

Cam settled himself onto the floor almost exactly as Derek had done. “So, Rae’s finally back this year I take it?” Both Ayden and Derek nodded. “Anybody seen her fine piece of ass yet?” Derek shook his head while Ayden replied, “No. But she’s apparently rooming with Teasley and they’re quote unquote ‘catching up’. So Tease threatened to string us up if we interrupted ‘girl time’.”

Cam and Derek laughed at that, which made Puck feel like he was even more out of the loop. “I have no idea what’s going on” he admitted. Cam, Ayden, and Derek all laughed this time, “Well Tease and I got moved to Toronto, so Tease hasn’t seen Rae in like...four years” explained Ayden, and Derek continued with, “And the part about Teasley trying to be intimidating is funny because the girl probably only weighs 98 pounds” Cam was still smiling as he said, “You’ll see when you meet them....speaking of which, we’d better head down to the lake. It’s almost time for the bonfire.”

With that, the four boys left the cabin and started for the stage down by the lake. They were the first to get there, but slowly the seats began to fill with campers. Soon Ms. Adelaide showed up with two girls in tow.

Puck, being Puck couldn’t help but notice that both girls were pretty, what with their long red hair, their smooth porcelain skin, and their very short shorts and tight camp t-shirts. And even better, they were twins. Derek noticed the look that Puck was sending his sisters, and elbowed him in the stomach, “Dude! Those are my little sisters!” Puck couldn’t help the rueful grin that spread across his face at that, and Derek just shoved him lightly before dragging him over to where his mother was standing and giving instructions to her daughters.

“Now, I want to make sure that last years marshmallow incident does not happen again. You hear?” Both twins crossed their arms and rolled their eyes at this. “Yes mom. We got it.” The twin closest to them poked Ms. Adelaide and nodded her head in the direction that Puck and Derek were approaching from, she turned and smiled, “Well Noah darling! I do hope that you found that everything is in order?” Puck couldn’t help but smile affectionately down at the small woman before answering “Yeah Ms. Adelaide, everything is good to go.” Adelaide smiled back and patted his cheek. “Glad to hear it hun. Have you met my daughters yet, Noah?” she said while gesturing to the twins standing next to her. “Well no m’am, I have not. Hello ladies, Noah Puckerman, Puck for short.” both girls blushed as each took his hand in hers. “Hi, I’m Lilly.” said the one with the blue eyes. “And I’m Clari, nice to meet you.” this from the twin with the brown eyes. Derek cleared his throat and rolled his eyes at his sisters fawning over Puck. Ms. Adelaide just simply laughed and turned toward Cam and Ayden who had come over to stand beside Derek. “Hello boys! It’s lovely to see you again! Has anyone seen either Rae or Teasley?” Everyone shook their heads no. “Oh well, I guess they’re just running a few seconds behind schedule. We might as well go ahead and start without them.”

With that the six teens stood behind Ms. Adelaide as she turned to address the waiting campers. Puck tuned out of what Ms. Adelaide was saying as she started to give her welcome speech, he never really was one for those kinds of things. A flicker of movement caught his eye from the back of the crowd.

He then saw two girls, one with a wild mass of black curls and the other with her brown hair pulled up into a messy bun. Both were running towards that stage, and both were wearing what seemed to be the customary attire amongst the female counselors. The girls finally made it up onto the stage, only to receive a blistering glare from Adelaide.

But Puck didn’t notice that, he was focusing entirely one the smaller girl with the brown hair. Because he knew those legs that were dripping out of those Daisy Duke’s. He knew that giggle that sounded like wind chimes. He knew those chocolate brown eyes that were currently staring back at him in confusion. And he most definitely knew that small breathy whisper of “Noah?”


	3. You Were Never Mine To Begin With

Their eyes locked and she could feel her lungs squeeze painfully. She was going to suffocate under his gaze. He had never **ever** looked at her like that. She felt Teasley break into applause next to her and that somewhat broke her trance like state. She blinked and looked around her. She had forgotten where she was. She clapped along with everyone else and then watched as the kitchen staff started to distribute to necessities for making s’mores. She felt like she was in a fog. Noah was here. **_Her_** Noah. Well...no. Not her Noah. He had never been hers. And he had always made it abundantly clear that he would never be hers. 

She briefly heard Teasley say something about bracing for impact and then seconds later she felt familiar well muscled arms wrap around her waist. She turned and was not at all surprised to find Cameron holding her. She smiled up at him “Hello Cam. I missed you.” He smiled back and pulled her a little further from the group of people currently trying to make sure that no flaming marshmallows were being thrown. “Do you remember the last conversation we had and what you promised me last time you saw me Bee?” She did remember. It was the summer before her sophomore year, before she had even met Finn or joined Glee club. 

That was the summer were Cam started to really pursue her, she had never felt more flattered in her entire life. But Rachel knew it wasn’t likely to last in the distance, what with him living in Chicago, so she had stopped it before they returned back to their regular lives. She had promised him though, that if the next time they saw each other, they would see if they still had the chemistry. 

But life became too hectic and she didn’t come back the next summer or the one after that either. So she knew what Cam was asking and she nodded her head. He leaned in closer and brushed his lips against hers. When she opened her mouth to him, it was warm and comfortable and familiar. His lips were soft and it was obvious that he had put in lots of practice since the last time they had done this, but it wasn’t...earth shattering. 

And she was pretty sure he felt it too. He pulled away and chuckled as he rested his forehead against hers, “Anything?” Rachel smiled but shook her head. Cam sighed and closed his eyes, “Well...it was worth a try. We’re cool though. Right Bee?” She smiled as she looked up at him and stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, “Of course Cam. Always.” Cam winked and moved to rejoin the group. 

As Rachel looked up, she caught Puck looking at her with the strangest expression on his face. She sighed to herself, _What the hell. Might as well get all of the awkward conversations out in one swift motion._

__And started to walk in his direction.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

_She’s totally going to kiss him! What the actual fuck!_ Puck stood there frozen to the spot as he watched the way Cam reached for her like it was the most natural thing in the world. The way she so easily slipped her arms over his shoulders so that she could anchor herself against him better. 

This didn’t seem like a first kiss. At all. This seemed like something that had once been common practice. Puck had a feeling that Cam had meant it when he had called dibs on ‘Rae’ all those years ago. And he didn’t like it. And he couldn’t put his finger one why he didn’t like it. Which just served to make him even more mad. 

“You know, you better be careful staring at people like that. People might start to think you’re a perv.” Puck jumped and looked around, seeing the girl with the curly hair, the infamous Teasley. 

He cleared his throat, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Teasley laughed. “Yeah. Ok. Sure. I know who you are. You’re Noah. Rachel told me about you.” His eyebrows went straight to his brow-line at that. “Really?” Teasley nodded. “Yeah, you’re the one who started the slushy thing. You’re also the first guy to ever sing for her. You guys have the oddest relationship.” 

Puck nearly choked when she said that word. “It’s not a relationship! We just know each other.”  Teasley just nodded at that and glanced over to where it appeared Cam was trying to massage Rachel’s tonsils with his tongue. “Well,” Teasley put her hands on her hips, “this conversation has been fun and oh so stimulating....but I’m gonna leave you alone now so that you can continue to stare longingly at my best friend who is kissing another dude. Later, Puck.” She gave him a salute and walked back to the fire pit. Puck shook his head, _That chick don’t know what the fuck she’s  talkin’ about._ He looked up just in time to see that Cam had finally stopped molesting Rachel, and she was reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. He  furrowed his brows at that. _What the fuck ever. Berry can do whatever the fuck Berry wants to do. Fuck. Shit. Fuck shit damn. She saw me looking. Shit. Shit. Fuck. She’s walking this way. Run. Run. Shit. Fuck. Damn._

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Noah.” Rachel lifted her hand in greeting. “Berry.” Puck nodded back. She cleared her throat, “Well. I wasn’t expecting to see anyone from Lima this summer.” Puck couldn’t help the sneer that spread across his face. 

“Oh, I can see that.” Rachel could tell by the way he said that, that it was supposed to be an insult. “Excuse me?” He laughed, it sounded bitter and he had no idea what the fuck he was saying. “Is this what you do when you’re not home? You turn easy and practically tongue fuck the first guy you see?”  

Her mouth dropped open, the affect of his words feeling like a physical slap across her face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about Noah Puckerman. And even if you did, who the hell are you to judge?” 

She couldn’t help it, she didn’t mean to bring up his past and the way he used to behave...but she was beyond insulted. He inhaled sharply at her words and stepped closer, glaring down at her. “You shouldn’t be making out with random guys Berry. People will start to think you’re a slut.”  

He was being harsh. He knew it. But he was so mad at her, and the confusion over why he was so mad, just made it worse. She backed away from him, and he could tell that she was on the verge of tears, “You have no say in what I do or who I do it with **Puck** , just like I have no say in your life. You have **always** made that really obvious.” With that she turned and left him standing by himself on the stage. 


	4. I Don't Do This Often

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short. I know. I'm sorry.

She avoided him for the rest of the night.

He watched her as she and Teasley led the campers in a rousing rendition of the hokey pokey. She seemed different than the Rachel he was used too.

This Rachel was laid back. She laughed more, she was less bossy, and she seemed more....confident.

She was a different person here. She belonged here. With these people.

As the hokey pokey turned into the chicken dance, Derek broke away from the crowd and approached the picnic table that Puck was sitting on.

The look he gave Puck only spelled trouble.

“So I think you need to tell me how you and Rae know each other. And don’t even try to bull shit your way out of it, I’m a lot more observant than I pretend to be.”

Puck pinched the bridge of his nose and let his head fall back. “I’m from Lima.” He felt like that would say it all.

Derek nodded and was quiet for a minute. “She’s basically family. You know that. Right, man?”

Puck closed his eyes and nodded, he had a feeling that this wasn’t going to end well for his worry free summer.

“Look. We aren’t as clueless as she thinks we are. My mom still talks to her dads once a week. We know, or at least mom and I do, some of the shit that’s gone down at McKinley. We know how...difficult it’s been for her. Her dads are worried about her. She’s apparently not been herself in awhile. I’ve known her forever. And she’s like the third little sister I never had, I wouldn’t hesitate to fuck somebody up who’s hurt her...”

Puck flinched at that...he was pretty sure that he’d hurt her at some point in the couple of years that he’d known her. He was an ass. He had known that forever.

“....But I’m pretty sure that Teasley knows a lot more details than I do, and all teasing from earlier aside, she’s pretty fierce. So the fact that you’re still left standing...well, it says a lot. I’m going to trust that you’re going to think things through and do the right thing here.”

Both boys looked toward Rachel who was currently laughing at something Ms. Adelaide had said.

Puck had never really felt guilty about anything in his life, with the exception of knocking up Quinn. He sighed. He knew what he was going to have to do.


	5. Running

She woke up the morning after what she was calling “The Incident” with a simple yet hopefully effective plan. 

She was just going to avoid him. For the rest of the summer. Yeah that sounded like an amazing idea. Should be easy peasy. She was successful for all of 5 minutes. 

“Berry!” 

She was trying to make it to the mess hall for breakfast when she heard him. She tried to speed up.

“Berry!!”

She was almost there just a few more steps and she could dissolve into the crowds of the hall. 

“Rachel! I know you can hear me. Just stop and talk to me. Please?”

She finally stopped. Sighing in defeat and closed her eyes. 

“What do you want Puck? Do you have more insults for me? Did I do something else that insults your sensibilities?” 

She finally opened her eyes and turned to look at him. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

He wasn’t gonna lie. He’d been staking out her cabin. He knew the chances were high that she was going to try to avoid him, and the best bet for him being able to actually talk to her while she was by herself was going to be before she went to breakfast. 

He finally saw her exit her cabin and take a quick look around her surroundings. She was looking for someone. 

_Yup_ he realized, _she’s trying to make sure she doesn’t run into me._

Seeming to think it was safe to continue on with her journey, she set off towards the mess hall. 

 He took a moment to look her over. He thought it couldn’t have gotten better than her in those short shorts....but he was wrong.

 Her in a pair of super skinny jeans and a tank had him trying to discreetly adjust his khaki shorts. He looked up again once he was more comfortable only to find that she was already halfway to her destination. 

Damn. She was practically running.

He called out to her. As he had predicted, she ignored him. 

He tried again. She **still** ignored him. 

He sped up and caught up to her. He didn’t touch her.

 He knew better than that. 

However, he used something that he was sure would get her attention...he used her first name for the first time in what felt like forever. 

“Rachel! I know you can hear me. Just stop and talk to me. Please?”

She stopped walking, _Thank fuck._ But she didn’t turn around. He heard her sigh. 

“What do you want Puck? Do you have more insults for me? Did I do something else that insults your sensibilities?”

_Ouch. That hurt._

She finally turned and looked up at him, and the look she gave him basically said she wanted him to eat shit and die. 

“I....I ummm....I wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

She must be hearing things. 

Puck never told anybody he was sorry for anything. It was part of his ‘charm’. 

“Excuse me?”

He pursed his lips and nodded.

“I said that I’m sorry. For last night. You were right. I have no right to judge you.”

She felt her mouth go slack. She had only ever heard him apologizing to Quinn. 

This was a rare occasion. 

“You’re apologizing?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“To me?” she was pointing to herself now.

“Yes.”

“Well...umm...thank you...?” 

He nodded again.

They then lapsed into silence. He was giving her this really intense look like he was trying to read her mind or something and she found it really difficult to look away.

 She wasn’t sure why, but as their gazes remained locked, the atmosphere shifted.

It was already awkward so she didn’t see how it could possibly hurt to reach up and pat him on the shoulder. She wasn’t however ready for the electric shock that ran from his shoulder and up her arm. 

She quickly pulled her arm away from him. 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He wasn’t expecting her to touch him. Her light touch on his shoulder sent lightning shocks through his entire system. 

She pulled away from him, and he felt the lose of her touch almost instantly. 

_What the fuck._ This was Berry. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. 

He tried to study her face as she cleared her throat and began to walk backwards in the direction of the mess hall. 

To him it looked like she was running away. 

“Well. This has been..interesting. But I’m going to go eat now. I have a class to teach in about 20 minutes....”

He nodded and let her go. 

He had a lot to think about. 

He had always been aware that him and Berry had a kinda...link. But he had always thought that that was more of a Jew neighborly watch sorta thing.

But then again...most neighbors don’t end up making out with each other whenever they were experiencing relationship issues. Most neighbors don’t have such awesome chemistry when they sang together. 

So maybe Berry wasn’t just a neighbor...?

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

She was deep in thought, staring into space as she swirled her spoon in her tea, when Teasley sat down next to her. 

“Earth to Raeeeee?”

Rachel looked up, “Oh. Hey! Sorry. Sup?”

Teasley smiled.

“I could practically hear those gears a workin’. What’s wrong?”

She sighed. It was complicated. And weird. And she wasn’t even sure what was going on...let alone how he could explain it to somebody else. 

“So um....you’re aware that the new guy is Noah, right? My Noah?” 

Teasley raised her eyebrow at the possessive phrase but nodded.

Rachel sighed. It seemed like she was going to be doing that a lot this summer. 

“Well...I left a few things out when I told you about the past two years...”

Teasley’s eyebrow raised even higher,

“... we have history. Noah and I. And then last night I kissed Cam. And it was nice and sweet. But it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted more umpf...ya know?”

Teasley nodded.

“And Noah saw, and he called me easy for kissing someone after only being here a few hours because he didn’t know. And we fought. And I hated him. And then he apologized, which he **never** does. And...and I think we had a moment...and I think.....I think I might have possibly wanted to kiss him maybe a little...?”

She cringed as the last parts came spilling out of her mouth. She had wanted to keep that to herself. 

Teasley just sat there looking at her like she had grown two heads.

“So let me get this straight, he saw the kiss, got jealous and called you easy?”

Rachel held her head in her hands and nodded.

“And then he apologized and you wanted to kiss him?”

She cringed again. “It’s complicated ok? I think I just need to avoid him for a while and enjoy being back. Right? Right. Ok.”

Teasley pursed her lips. To her it sounded like Rae was planning on locking down and running from whatever was going on. “Ok Rae. Whatever you think is best. But promise me one thing?”

Rachel looked over. “What?”

“Don’t run.” Teasley smiled and poked her best friend in the side before getting up from the bench seat, “Now come on, we’re gonna be late for our first sessions.”

 

 

 

 


	6. The Lonely

Her first classes of the summer had gone splendidly. She had a few kids who showed amazing promise. 

Even her acoustic session that she co-taught with Noah had gone supremely well.

Albeit, it was a little awkward trying to pretend that she wasn’t affected by his presence, but that was where her many years of acting classes came in handy.

She would be fine as long as she kept things professional. 

Because after all, this morning was a fluke.

She had thought during that weird moment that he was going to kiss her.

But that was crazy.

There was no way that he was attracted to her.

And she couldn’t let herself run wild again. She did not need another incident like the one with Finn.

That had cost her two years of her life where she had lost sight of what was really important.

She had become something she wasn’t, for a guy.

It was inexcusable, and she couldn’t let herself do it again even if it would feel nice to stave off the loneliness that comes with stardom. 

She bit her lip and looked at the clock.

She had about an hour until everyone would meet up for dinner at the mess hall. 

She flipped off her flip flops and grabbed her bag from the chair in the corner. 

There was no use wasting this time. 

 She slipped on her pointe shoes and tied up the ribbons.

She walked over to the sound system at the front of the room and put one of her CDs in. 

As the music began, she stretched a bit and listened to what song was starting.

She laughed as she recognized the song.

_Ha. Music karma strikes again._

The piano chords cut across the silence and she relaxed as she began to move across the floor.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was walking up the steps to the classroom when he saw her.

Her back was turned to him and she was putting something into the sound system. 

He looked at her feet to see her pointe shoes and realized what she was doing. 

Impromptu practicing was one of her go to boredom busters.

She started to move with the music and he would swear that he’d never seen anything more beautiful than her in that exact moment. 

He realized that she was softly singing along as she danced. 

The lyrics caught his attention real quick.

****

**I'm the ghost of a girl**

**That I want to be most**

**I'm the shell of a girl**

**That I used to know well**

****

He looked at her face as she sang, and he saw an emotion that he doubted Rachel had rarely ever let anyone see on her face before. She looked so sad. No not even sad, it was more intense than that..

**Dancing slowly in an empty room**

**Can the lonely take the place of you**

**I sing myself a quiet lullaby**

**Then you go and let the lonely in**

**To take my heart again**

****

_Jesus. Is this about fucking Hudson again?_

He was so fucking tired of it always being about Finn. 

Like really. 

How much more of a dick could the guy get, but he still had those girls wrapped around his finger. It was stupid. 

****

**Broken pieces of**

**A barely breathing story**

**Where there once was love**

**Now there's only me**

**And the lonely...**

_Fuck this shit. Fuck it all._

If Berry wanted to believe she was going to die if she didn’t have Finn then that’s fine by him. 

He stormed into the room being as loud as possible. 

“Berry can you cut this chick shit off? I can’t even fuckin’ think straight.”

She jumped about 10 feet into the air out of fright as he broke into her quiet little bubble.  

“Oh! Noah! Hi!”

Her smile almost blinded him and all he could do was glare back at her. 

He saw the confusion as he continued to glare. 

Her smile fell from her face as she moved towards him out of concern.

“Noah? Are you alright?”

_No. Everything is not fucking alright._

He wanted to yell at her again and ask her why she always went after the douches who shouldn’t even deserve to look at her, but he didn’t want to have to apologize to her again. 

“Hudson?”

He couldn’t help it. He was pretty sure that word vomit was an actual disease.

She looked even more confused at that. 

“What?” 

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Finn. That was about Finn wasn’t it? That song, the emotion.”

She outright laughed at him and shook her head.

“No,” she giggled. “he had nothing to do with that.”

She looked up at him and quickly turned away towards the stereo. 

He watched as she gathered her things and switched her ballet shoes for her flip flops once again. 

She grabbed her bag and started for the door stopping as she reached it and turned back towards him.

“Why?”

It was his turn to be confused.

“Why what, Berry?”

She shuffled her feet a bit and then placed her hand on her hip.

“Why do you care who I was thinking about when I was dancing?” 

Of course she would ask the one question he didn’t want her to.

“Because I just care.”

He knew he had said the wrong thing when she crossed her arms over her chest.

Which, ya know, just distracted him even more because it pushed her boobs up, and they had already looked really good in that tank top.

 Now they were basically out there to taunt him. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Righteous indignation filled her when he gave her his reason. 

Here she was trying to have a serious conversation with him like any civilized adult would, and he was giving the world’s most childish answers. 

As per usual. 

She crossed her arms and mentally prepared herself for what appeared to be their next fight. 

“I thought we had already discussed this Noah.”

He thought they had too. But he couldn’t concentrate. 

Her boobs were literally right there. Like....he could touch them if he wanted. 

She was talking and he was pretty sure that he should probably have been listening, but his mind had started to wander down a dirty dirty path. 

Ok, so maybe he was more attracted to her than he had ever allowed himself to realize. 

God the things he wanted to do to her. 

He needed to stop or he was going to do something stupid.

“Berry.” 

She was still ranting and raving and she hadn’t even noticed that he wasn’t paying attention. 

“Berry!”

She huffed at being interrupted.

“What?”

“You really need to put your boobs away before I do something stupid like pushing you up against the wall and taking you right here, right now.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She felt the blush creep up her face and her eyes go wide. 

She quickly uncrossed her arms and took a few large steps back from him. 

Here she was telling him about her goals for this summer and he was not even paying attention to her. 

Well. He had been paying attention to her, just not to what she was saying. 

The predatory look in his eyes just intensified as he took in her now flaming pink cheeks. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her blush was probably the hottest thing he had ever seen on a girl. 

That coupled with the fact that she didn’t verbally protest to what he had said, told him that just maybe Berry had been thinking those strange thoughts just like he had. 

She was trying to move away, and that just made him want to chase her even more. 

Her back hit the door and he was in front of her in no time. 

He put one hand on the door handle and the other on the other side of the door so that he was sort of leaning into her.

“Rach....you need to tell me to back off, or I’m going to kiss you.” 

Her breath hitched as he said that. 

He watched as she wet her lips and then leaned up closer towards him and whispered, “Maybe I want you to kiss me, Noah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is Christina Perri's The Lonely


	7. Cookies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid that this is another short one. Sorry...again.

It had been two weeks since he had pinned her against that classroom door.

Two weeks since he had leaned into her personal space.

Two weeks since he had touched her smooth as silk skin.

Two weeks since he had been close enough to smell her perfume, which smelled like freshly baked cookies.

Two weeks since he had almost gotten in over his head.

He couldn’t help remember what had almost happened.

**“Maybe I want you to kiss me Noah.”**

**His entire body had burst into flames when he realized what she was saying. But he was quick to notice how her eyes had gone wide when she apparently realized what she had just let slip. She had evidently just gotten caught up in the moment.**

**He knew it was too good to be true.**

**His hands slipped from the door and landed on her tiny waist while his eyes closed and he leaned his forehead against the door just above her shoulder.**

**She had gone so still and silent. He could feel her eyes on him, and he guessed she was probably trying to figure out what was going on, just like he was.**

**“Rach....” It came out almost like a sob.**

**Oh god. He was being such a chick right now.**

**He inhaled deep, and there it was. The cookie smell. He opened his eyes and stepped back, reluctantly letting her slip from his grasp.**

**“You’re gonna be later for dinner. Teasley will be waiting for you.”**

**She was still plastered against that fucking door, looking at him like a deer caught in the headlights.**

**She finally pulled herself together enough to reach down and grab her bag from where it had fallen on the floor, and open the door. She threw one last glance back at him before she ran out and down the porch steps.**

They had pretty much been pretending that nothing had happened.

Except Puck could swear that whenever she walked by, the smell of freshly baked cookies lingered for hours.

And whenever they happened to be in the same room, he would swear that he could feel her gaze brush against him, only to turn and find her engaged in a conversation with someone, or immersed in some sort of activity.

He thought about her all the time now.

Which, when he thought about it was really weird and just plain fucked up. He didn’t understand how he could have gone all those years at home blissfully ignoring her, and all of a sudden she was all he could think about.

That shit was fucked up.

The worst part of it all was at night. When he was lying in his bed listening to Ayden mumbling shit in his sleep.

All he could do was think about her.

Her hair, her eyes, her voice.

And then, when he ended up falling asleep while still thinking about her, there were the dreams. Those dreams were basically the hottest thing ever. It turned out that his imagination was a dirty dirty place. Which you know, shouldn’t really surprise anyone....but they made him realize that maybe he had never really been able to ignore Rachel like he thought he had.


	8. The Irony

It had been two excruciating weeks.

God it was horrible.

She wasn’t really sure how she was supposed to act around him anymore. They kept it polite during the session they co-taught and whenever they happened to run into each other around the common areas. But it was like they were two completely different people now.

All that familiarness had gone up in smoke, they were practically walking on egg shells.

They had never not acted on their weird chemistry thing that they had going on, and them not acting on it, just made it seem like it was building up all the more fervently.

It was absolutely ridiculous.

Her eyes found him whenever they happened to be in the same room, and her fingers often had the betraying itch to touch him. She wasn’t really sure what was going on. She prided herself with her usually impeccable self control, but around him it seemed to evaporate.

She had no idea where her lusty courage that day had come from, but she was oh so thankful that it seemed like Noah might have a better control on his wanton urges.

Otherwise she was pretty sure that she would have gladly let him do all those dirty things that his eyes had shown that he wanted to do to her.

She had to keep her focus.

There was no room in her life for getting caught up in a boy.

Again.

No matter how often she told herself to not get distracted, she found herself thinking about him whenever her mind went idle. Like right now for instance. She was supposed to be thinking up dance routines for one of her classes, but no.

She had been remembering that evening.

That classroom.

The way his hands felt on her hips.

The way his breath had skittered across her neck when he had said her name.

And oh god, the way he had said it.

Like it was his last prayer.

Even thinking about it two weeks later sent a jolt up her spine.

She was rudely snapped back into reality as Teasley and Derek came strolling through the door.

“See Tease, you owe me five bucks. Told you she’d be in here moping about again.” Teasley rolled her eyes and pushed past Derek on her way to sit down next to Rachel.

Rachel noticed the way Derek went still and got in Teasley’s way a little bit more than necessary as she passed, causing her to actually touch him as she made her way to the bed.

“Well damn, Raerae. There ya go costin’ me my precious money.” Teasley smiled and winked back at Derek.

Rachel couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. She absolutely adored these two. She had always felt that Teasley and Derek were soul-mates and were just too oblivious to see it. They always flirted and danced around each other, but nothing ever came of it. Rachel wasn’t sure if it was because of the fact that Derek was Ayden’s best friend, or something else. But no matter what was the problem, she just wished that the two would see their potential and finally get together and live out their happily ever after that she was sure she saw for them. It seemed to her, that two people who had such palpable chemistry, should be together. For them not to be, should be a crime.

Derek plopped himself down on Rachel’s remaining empty side. “Sooooo Rae, have you figured out what you’re going to do for the Showcase, yet?”

Oh god.

She hadn’t even that about that yet.

The end of camp Showcase was basically everyone’s chance to show off. It was kind of a big deal, you never knew what friends of Ms. Adelaide’s were going to show up, you never knew if it could be your big break.

And she hadn’t even thought about it.

Because she spent nearly all of her free time thinking about Noah. Boys were a distraction. This was proof.

Derek bumped her shoulder successfully knocking her out of her inner freak out. “What’s been up with you lately? One minute you’re here, the next you withdraw and curl up in that lovely little head of yours.”

Teasley scoffed at that and Rachel turned to lob what she hoped was a scathing glare in the other girls direction.

“There’s nothing going on with me at all. I’ve just been trying to figure out what I’m going to do for the Showcase.” The lie came easily, just a bit too easily for Rachel’s liking.

Derek looked like he bought the lie, Teasley on the other hand just raised her eyebrow, and Rachel knew that there was going to be no way that she was going to be able to not tell Teasley what had happened.

Teasley reached down and griped her hand. “Welllllll Rach, that’s what we came here for. We’ve decided that since I currently can’t find my iPod and am therefore cut off from my amazing music library to dance to, Derek is going to put something together using all his producery skills, and you’re going to provide your angelic vocal chords.”

Rachel looked at Derek who was nodding wholeheartedly as if this was the best suggestion he had ever heard. She had to admit, it actually sounded like it would be fun.

“Ok. Do I get to pick the piece, or are you going to do that part?”

Teasley and Derek high-fived over Rachel’s head.

“Oh don’t worry about it, I'm sure that we can all figure something out. Maybe we can meet up later and talk about it. But right now, I gotta go do some stuff for mom. See you ladies later.” And with that, Derek jumped from the bed and was out the door before either girl could even respond.

As soon as the door shut, Teasley pounced. “So what’s REALLY up, Rae?” Rachel sighed, and launched into the story of what had gone down that evening two weeks ago with Noah.

By the end of the story Teasley was practically drooling at the mouth and fanning herself.

“Wow. Wowwwww. WOW. Rae....that’s....that’s...crazy...and hot. Really hot.” Rachel couldn’t do anything but nod.

“You should have kissed him you know?” That however garnered a squeak of surprise from Rachel.

“What? You know what I want from this summer, Tease! No boys, all me, talent only!”

Teasley smiled kindly at her and just reached over to pat her gently on the knee. “Honey, I thought we had already talked about this, but apparently I’m going to have to spell this out for you. Not every guy is Finn Hudson. I highly doubt Puck would expect you to change everything about yourself just to be with him. You need to stop running. You guys have the most intense chemistry I have ever seen in my life. You have to see what’s there otherwise you’re going to look back one day when you’re old, wrinkled, and alone, and you’re going to regret that you never took that leap of faith.”

Rachel nodded and shrugged her shoulder at this.

It made sense.

She had even thought this earlier about Teasley and Derek.

In fact, what Teasley had just said was basically what Rachel had been wanting to tell Teasley for years.

Gotta love that irony. So maybe, just maybe, not all boys should be avoided.


	9. The Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the song in this Chapter Is To Whom It May Concern by The Civil Wars  
> Bold- Noah  
> Italics- Rachel  
> Both- Both

Derek burst into the cabin, scaring both Puck and Ayden who had both been quietly doing their own thing.

Puck and Ayden exchanged a glance as Derek doubled over trying to catch his breath. “Dude. You ok?” Ayden asked from his bed.

Derek nodded, still out of breath from his sprint from the girls cabin to his current seat at the end of Pucks bed.

Puck set his sheet music down and looked at his friend. “Sup man?”

Derek looked between his two friends and whispered, “This can’t leave this cabin. We are now in a sacred cone of silence.”

Ayden’s eyes widened and he leaned forward. “The cone of silence is sacred.” Puck just rolled his eyes and nodded. He was getting used to the camps’ tendency to lean towards being over dramatic.

Derek seemed appeased at his response and decided to continue, “Teasley’s got a plan.”

Ayden groaned and laid back down on his bed, Teasley’s plans were notorious for their overwhelmingly meddlesome nature.

Puck just raised his brow and waited for Derek to continue. “She wants you and Rae to get together. Like....together together. She thinks you guys are soul-mates or something.”

Ayden scoffed and shook his head. It was classic Teasley.

Derek glared at his best friend before continuing on with the plan. “She wants you two to perform a duet for the Showcase. I’m going to produce it and she’s going to dance to it. It’s going to be rad. This way, you guys are guaranteed to spend loads of time together, I mean...we all know Rae, she’ll want to perfect everything.” Puck scowled while Ayden nodded, it sounded perfect to him. “Who says I want to spend lots of time with Berry? Especially if it’s time spent locked in your tiny little booth?”

Now it was Derek and Ayden’s turn to roll their eyes.

“Dude. Who wouldn’t to be locked in that room with Rae?” Puck scrubbed his face and looked up wearily, “Ok maybe I do. But who says this is going to work?”

Derek smiled and reached over to slap Ayden’s awaiting palm with a victorious high five. The plan was as good as sold.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So I was thinking something lightly acoustic, slow, soulful. In a perfect world the lyrics would have to do with love, either about falling for someone you’ve known forever or blossoming love. Kinda hopeful. Ya know?”

Teasley was currently pacing in front of the little group seated on the grass in front of her; Rachel laying back watching the clouds drift by, Derek paying rapt attention to the graceful turns the raven haired dancer was making, and Puck who sat cross legged stealing glances of Rachel out of the corner of his eye.

Teasley huffed and threw herself to the ground, “Any ideas?”

Derek raised his hand and then just as quickly lowered it when he realized what he’d done. “Dave Matthews?

Puck threw a disgusted look at his friend, “Fuck no, Fargo.”

Derek and Puck continued to throw around artist names, each getting shot down for some reason or another, when suddenly Rachel sat up. “The Civil Wars.”

Three pairs of questioning eyes landed on her mid argument. “What?”

“The Civil Wars.” Both Derek and Puck turned to the other and shrugged as the name rang no bell with them.

Teasley on the other hand seemed to know the band. “But which song are we talking about? Poison & Wine?” Rachel glanced towards Puck and blushed before shaking her head. “No I was thinking either To Whom It May Concern or I’ve Got This Friend...?”

Puck had no idea what the fuck was going on, and by the looks of it, neither did Derek. No bueno.

“What the fuck are you two talking about?” Rachel looked up from her iPod that she had just dug out of her bag and met his eyes for the first time in what felt like ages. “Language, Noah.” she grinned, “We’re talking about this amazing band called the Civil Wars. They’re very light and airy and singer/songwritery. You’d have to sing with me, but I think that our voices would blend beautifully with the style. Here. Let me play you the song that I was thinking about.”

She placed the tiny hot pink device onto the ground between the two of them.

The song was perfect.

Learning the guitar part shouldn’t be too hard for him, and the lyrics fit them almost perfectly, even if she didn’t realize it yet.

Teasley and Derek nodded in agreement. “Alright then, To Whom It May Concern it is.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They had been working on the song for little over a week.

Everything was falling into place perfectly. Puck already had the guitar part down pat, and just like Rachel had predicted, the two singers fell into the harmonies as if it was as natural as breathing.

Their last session of the day had just ended when he called out to her, “Hey Rach, wanna run through the song before dinner?”

Rachel turned back from the door and removed her bag, dropping it lightly to the floor near his guitar case. “You know I’m always willing to practice, Noah.”

Her smile was blinding and he couldn’t exactly help the butterflies that began to stir as he acknowledged that they were alone again in the same room that he had almost kissed her in the last time.

She sat down cross legged on the floor and stretched herself out. Puck followed suit and dragged the guitar case towards him. He began to strum the melody and watched as she tilted her head back, immersing herself in the song.

**Why are you so far from me?**

**In my arms is where you ought to be**

_How long will you make me wait?_

_I don't know how much more I can tak_ e

**_I missed you_ **

**_But I haven't met you_ **

**_Oh but I want to_ **

**_How I do_ **

**Slowly counting down the days**

**Till I finally know your name**

_Ooo the way your hand feels round my waist_

_The way you laugh_

_The way your kisses taste_

**_I missed you_ **

**_But I haven't met you_ **

**_Oh but I want to How I do,_ **

**_How I do_ **

**_I've missed you_ **

**_But I haven't met you_ **

**_Oh I missed you_ **

**_But I haven't met you_ **

**_Oh but I want to_ **

**_Oh how I want to_ **

**Dear whoever you might be**

_I'm still waiting patiently._

He was drifting towards her as the last notes left her lips and before he even realized what was happening, he had his left arm wrapped around her waist hauling her into his lap as his other hand rose and tangled itself in her hair.

Her lips were soft and she let out the tiniest whimper as his lips crashed onto hers.

It was an intense kiss, definitely something that was long overdue in his opinion.

Her hands came up to fist themselves in his shirt as they fought for dominance of the kiss.

He took his time exploring her mouth, it had after all, been quite a long time since he had last claimed it as his.

Her breath was ragged when she lightly pushed him away and she let go of his shirt and began trying to soothe the wrinkles that had appeared from her death-grip.

Puck reached for her face and titled her head so that their foreheads were touching and he could clearly see the turmoil and utter panic in her eyes.

He knew she was going to freak out.

He sighed deeply and ran his nose along her cheek until he hit her jaw and began to nibble his way down to her pulse point.

She inhaled sharply as he found the spot behind her ear that she had always liked for him to pay attention to. “Noah. Stop.”

“Hmm?”

“Noah.” he ran his tongue along the spot and goosebumps erupted down her arms. “Noah, stop.”

It took him a second to realize that she wasn’t in fact grabbing at his shirt in excitement like before, but she was trying to push her body up and away from his.

He let her go, and glared as she stood up and stumbled a few steps away from him.

She shook her head and backed up more. Towards her bag, towards the door. She was running.

Again.

She reached down and grabbed her bag, looking back to the boy sitting dumbfounded on the floor. “It’s not that I don’t want this Noah. I do. You don’t know how much. I just...I want this TOO much.”

She continued backing up, she was almost to the door, and he continued to sit there, staring at her. “You know me. How much I want things. I want you too much. Just like always. And I can’t....I can’t do that to you. I’m sorry.” With that, she reached behind her back and turned the doorknob.

And she was gone.


	10. Honesty

Rachel ran for all she was worth. She wasn’t exactly sure where she was going or why she was running, but literally every fiber in her being was urging her to do so.

She wanted to run from Noah.

From the kiss.

From herself.

As she rounded a bend on the pathway, she realized were she was heading. On the south side of the camp in a patch of trees, there was a huge old barn that was part of the original farm land that the camp was now located on.

When they had bought the land, Mr. Fargo had wanted to tear down the building because he had thought that it was such an eyesore, but Ms. Adelaide couldn’t bring herself to sign the authorization papers needed to start the demolition. It was rumored that this was the fight that put the final nail in the coffin of their not so stable marriage. Those rumors were only fueled by the relish and absolute dedication that Adelaide had put forth during the long and very expensive renovation process.

The barn was no longer a run down building built circa 1835, it was now a state of the art auditorium fitted with all the newest and flashiest amenities. I

t was basically Ms. Adelaide’s pride and joy.

It was also a really fantastic place to go if you wanted to just sit in the dark and think long and hard about your life decisions.

She paused in the main hall as she heard the first familiar notes of Saint-Saëns; Danse Macabre drifted through the air. She slowly opened the Great Hall’s doors and silently sat herself down in a seat in the back row of chairs. Teasley was up on stage, trying to work out the kinks in a new piece that Rachel had never seen her perform before.

Teasley had always been a very talented dancer in Rachel’s opinion. In fact it was Rachel declaring that sentiment that lead to the two even forming a friendship.

It had been the first summer that they had both attended camp...really the first session they had together. Rachel had watched as the pretty girl with the curly black hair had spun around the room, executing her moves almost as well as Rachel herself was doing them. At the end of class Rachel had gone up to the other girl and held her hand out as confidently as possible, “I’m Rachel Berry. I’m going to be a star. I think you could be one too. We should be friends.” Teasley had just taken Rachel’s hand and smiled.

It had been history after that.

The two girls had taken every ballet class they could, both determined that they would one day make it onto the company roster for the New York City Ballet.

Together.

That is until Rachel had gotten her hands on a copy of Funny Girl and discovered that she could be a star by both dancing and singing.

Broadway was her new shiny goal, and Teasley was more than happy to continue on towards her goal of joining the New York City Ballet. After all, they would still wind up in the same city, just different venues.

The music began to reach it’s climax, and she watched as Teasley prepared to launch herself into her big finish...a series of beautifully graceful fouettes.

Rachel stood from her chair and walked to the stage where Teasley had plopped herself down to adjust the ties on her pointe shoes. “Your fouettes have improved.” Teasley looked up from her shoes and smiled, blushing a little at the compliment. “Thanks, Rae. Ms. Adelaide finally caved and held a clinic on them last summer.”

Rachel nodded as a flash of jealousy swept over her. Mastering fouettes had been her ultimate ballet goal long before Teasley had even known what they were.

_I guess that’s what happens when you’re away for so long Rach._

“That’s cool. How many are you up to consecutively?” Teasley blushed again, “I can get to 28 before losing control.” Rachel nodded and swallowed down her bitter remark before it could come spilling out of her mouth.

She could only do 20, but there was no reason to hurt Teasley just because she had gotten lazy over the last two years.

Teasley seemed to read the emotions flitting across Rachel’s face and decided that she was going to change the subject. “So what’s up Rae? Were ya lookin for me, or did you need the space to practice?” Rachel sniffed as she laid herself down on the stage. “Mmm...just needed somewhere to think.”

She gazed up at the rafters and debated on whether or not she should actually tell Teasley what had happened.

On one hand, she didn’t want to hear the He’s-Not-Finn speech all over again, and on another, she just really really wanted to tell someone about how amazing it was.

She sighed and rolled over onto her stomach, cradling her head in her arms. “A hissed moahh.” Teasley cocked her head to the side trying to figure out what Rachel had just said. “Sweetie. You’re talkin’ to the floor. I didn’t understand a word you just said.” Rachel groaned and lifted her head back up, glaring at her best friend, “I KISSED NOAH.” Teasley’s eyes went wide and a nervous giggle erupted from her lips.

Rachel just rolled her eyes and thunked her head back to the stage floor. She felt a warm reassuring hand touch her shoulder, “Well hun, this is a good thing...right?” Rachel huffed again and flipped back over. “Teasley. Do you know what happens when I like a guy? I don’t do what normal girls do. I _can’t_ do what normal girls do. I fall so fast that it’s scary. I fall hard, so hard that I become blinded to everything but my love for that guy. I don’t see his flaws, I don’t see that I’m turning into a crazy person, I just get so wrapped up in him that I can’t think about anything but him. It’s not healthy. I need to keep myself focused on my dreams and what I want out of life, or I’m never going to get it.”

Teasley reached for Rachel’s hand and made sure that she was looking her in the eyes, “No sweetie, you know what I think? I think you just need to find somebody out there that can be just as crazy about you as you are about him. What I want to know is what happened to you, Rach?”

Rachel squeezed her hand and shook her head. “It’s a long story Tease.”

Teasley just nodded her head in encouragement and waited for Rachel to get the hint. “Ok fine. Finn and I broke up at the beginning of December. And we kept it polite...for the sake of Glee of course. We talked, we still hung out, it was like nothing had changed except we weren’t official.” Teasley nodded, it was classic Rachel, she rarely burnt bridges. “And then about Christmas time, Finn and Quinn got back together, and it felt like someone had tore through my body and ripped out my heart. And then, on New Years Eve...”

A tear rolled down her cheek as Teasley gripped her hand a little tighter. “....he called me. He told me that he realized that he still loved me and he wanted to know if he could come over to talk. And I...I just assumed that by that he had meant that he had broken up with Quinn....and I....I told him I loved him too...and things got physical...and I just gave it up. I gave him _everything_. Everything,Teasley. And so when he left, I expected everything to go back to the way they should be...but imagine my surprise when on the day we get back from break, he walks right past my locker hand in hand with _her_. It was like it never happened. He got what he wanted, and he didn’t care about how I felt about it.”

Rachel looked up as the sobs threatened to overtake her, Teasley was sitting there blinking in what appeared to be shock.

Rachel hiccuped and that seemed to pull the other girl out of her trance. “Oh honey,” she reached out and pulled Rachel towards her, hugging her close, “It’ll be ok. We’ll get past this.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neither girl noticed the person on the balcony get up from their seat and move towards the exit.


	11. Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, I do not own Glee, nor it's characters. However, all other ideas and characters are mine

He could honestly say he was livid.

Of course Finn would go and fuck everything up, it was that kids special talent.

But he never thought that Finn would stoop to the lows that he had heard Rachel tell Teasley about.

That shit's messed up. But at least he now understood.

It never had made sense why Glee was suddenly so strained after everyone came back from Winter Break. He had thought that everyone had worked out all their issues and that they would finally finally all be able to move on. But of course, it could never have been that easy.

It also now made sense why Rachel was so damn reluctant to let him in. And if he was her, and was looking at all his past decisions and actions, yeah, he'd be reluctant too.

That's why he had pulled back from her for the past week since he had overheard the conversation that she had with Teasley in the auditorium. And it seemed like that was what she wanted too. She hadn't even approached him to practice.

Which is why he finds himself all alone in his cabin, staring up at the ceiling listening to music that's probably too loud, while everyone is off getting ready for their Showcase performances.

There's a soft knock at the door, so he slides off the bed and reaches over to turn down the volume. He answers the door fully expecting one of the other campers or counselors to be on the other side bitching about his music, and so he's shocked to see Rachel standing there.

She looks just as good as ever in her shorts and tank top, but the look on her face? Yeah. No. He doesn't like that. She looks like she's questioning her entire existence.

"Hey Rach. Sup?" She bites her lip, and it almost kills him. He doesn't understand how Hudson could have been such an epic idiot.

"Hello Noah. Ijustwantedtostopbyandapologizeforbeingsoawkwardandbusy." She's talking a mile a minute and he's pretty sure that only a chipmunk could have possibly understood what she just said. Her shoulders are so scrunched they're almost to her ears, and her entire being screams tension.

"Uhhhh..okay Rach. Come in and we can talk. But dude, you gotta relax." At this, she breathes deep, pauses and lets her shoulders relax while stepping over the threshold. They both settle onto a bed and he can tell that she really hasn't relaxed at all.

She's as taught as a mis-strung guitar, one tap and all her strings are gonna snap. He might as well delve into this as long as she's on edge.

He scoots forward a bit and rubs his face with his hand, a clear tell of just how aggravated he really is.

"Look. I'm gonna be honest with you because I think it's what we both need." she quirks her head to the side letting him know that she's listening, "I'm not going to tell you that I regret kissing you. I've never regretted a single time you've let me be with you like that. Ever." This is the hard part, the part she's not gonna like. "But, I heard you talking to Teasley last week," her eyes are as round as saucers at this point. "and I want you to know and understand that I'm not fucking Hudson. I know that I've made so many mistakes in my past, but...I would never...I could never do that to you. You're too important. And I want for you to think about letting me show you that."

His eyes fall to his hands as he says this. He can't handle it if he sees rejection all over her face.

He hears her shift, and glances up in time to see her slide to the floor to kneel in front of him.

* * *

 

She can't believe what she's just heard.

Did he...? Did he just say what she thinks he said?

She gets up from her spot on Ayden's bed and kneels in front of him. She has to see his eyes.

She had fully expected to come here to apologize for being a coward, and then practicing for their showcase performance that is happening in two days.

She definitely did not expect Noah to tell her that he had overheard her embarrassing tale of woe. Nor did she ever expect for him to tell her that she was too important.

He's studiously trying to not make eye contact with her, so she reaches up and cups his cheek, locking his eyes to hers. "What does that mean Noah?"

He breathes sharply in through his nose and brings up a hand to intertwine with hers that's on his cheek, "It means that I can't stop thinking about you. The way you smell, the way you blush, or the fact that you always kinda taste like a grape slushie."

She can feel herself blushing, and for the first time ever, she actually notices the way his pupils dilate when he sees her pink cheeks.

He clears his throat, grips her hand a little tighter and continues, "I know we tried being together before, but I wanna try again."

At that she shoots to her feet, hand still entrapped with his. "Rach. Please...don't run."

He skates his thumb in circles over her pulse point, and it does nothing to help slow down the thoughts threading through her brain.

She's already in way too deep with him. They've already tried going down this road, and it didn't work. Who's to say that it would even work again? This could prove to be so much worse than it was with Finn.

But then she hears Teasley in the back of her mind, telling her that not every guy on Earth is just like Finn Hudson and that she shouldn't run from every prospect of happiness.

And she realizes that Noah makes her laugh. He makes her feel comfortable. And there's always been that intense spark of attraction and chemistry between them. What if Noah just so happens to be the one guy who can be just as crazy about her as she is about him?

She looks down at their hands that are still clasped together, and then looks back into his eyes, finally relaxing for the first time in a week.

"Okay."


	12. Are You Going To Stay The Night?

He stood next to her on the stage, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She had his hand in a death grip, and her million watt smile was in full affect.   
They had killed their showcase performance.   
As soon as they left the stage, Ms. Adelaide came bustling over with three people in tow. They all started talking at once, and yeah, he probably should have been paying attention, but seriously. Rachel was in her element and had never look more drop-dead gorgeous than she did right now.   
He tuned back into the conversation as Rachel shook hands with the three strangers and they took their leave. She looks up and him and squints her eyes, “You missed that entire conversation, didn’t you?” He just smiles and shrugs his shoulder and she scoffs, “Noah, those people were from NYU and wanted to talk to us about scholarships!!” She’s so darn cute when she’s excited and she still has that mega watt smile on her face, he can’t help it. He pushes his hands into her hair and brings her lips to his. He smiles into the kiss when her breath hitches in her throat at his onslaught.   
“Noah” she sighs as he pulls back for air, he knows that they should probably be going back out into the audience to watch the rest of the evenings performances, but right now, she’s the only thing on his mind. “Wanna get out of here and go somewhere quiet?” He knows that she knows what he’s hinting at, and yeah, maybe it’s a little too fast and it may be pushing her too far, but he can’t take it back now. She looks up at him, and he’s a little scared that he might have just fucked everything up. But then she’s smiling her sexy little smile and taking his hand. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The fact that they don’t rush on the way to her cabin surprises her a little bit. They both know what’s more than likely going to happen tonight, but this whole un-rushed feeling? Makes her think that this just might be the best thing that she’s going to do in her life.   
They’re quiet when they enter her cabin, and he doesn’t seem to mind that she just kisses him quickly and then starts her night time routine. There’s an unspoken understanding that he’s spending the night and that this is about more than just celebrating there dominating success.   
It’s nothing like how she always imagined this would be, and duh, she’s thought about it before. They have way too much chemistry for there not to have been fantasies, even when they were still pretending to hate each other.   
She’s in the cabin’s bathroom washing of her make-up and he’s leaning against the door jamb as he watches her carry out her involved process. She blushes as she watches his gaze skate over her in the mirror. When his hands land on her hips, an electric shock zips up her spine. Her skirt falls to the floor as she brushes her teeth, and she realizes that he’s been slowly working down the elastic of her gauzy teal skirt as he rubbed circles into her hip bone. He grins at her wolfishly when she simply raises her eyebrows at him in the mirror. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When she simply shrugs and steps out of her skirt while still brushing her teeth, he laughs. She reaches back over the sink and hands him the toothpaste. This feels homey to him he realizes as he squirts some of the paste onto his finger, them brushing their teeth together. It’s intimate in a way that should be scary, but he can see himself doing this for the rest of his life.   
She finishes with her tooth brush, and then grins as she turns to him and starts unbuttoning his plaid shirt, “It’s only fair,” she says , but when she pauses her task to flick at his newly discovered nipple ring, he can’t take it anymore. He hoists her up over his shoulder and has her dumped rather unceremoniously onto her bed before she can even make a noise.   
He knows his grin is boarding on feral as he watches her laugh and then settle herself back on her elbows on the bed. She’s in nothing but a white tank top and her lacy teal panties that matched her skirt, and she’s honestly more stunning than anything he’s ever seen come from any over priced lingerie shop. There’s no way that this isn’t going to be mind blowing. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The way he’s looking at her is mind melting, and when he grins down at her again and says, “You’re so fucking beautiful, Rach” as he begins finishing her abandoned job of unbuttoning his shirt; she swears that she about comes undone right there and then.   
His cargo shorts follow his shirt, and then he’s standing there in all his glory. “Your turn.” he says as her eyes skate over him, and she takes in just how big and proud Noah really is, and blushes.   
She should feel embarrassed at how quickly she leans up to yank her tank top over her head, but damn she’s more than ready to get down to business already. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She’s now completely bare from the waist up, and he’s swallowed his fucking tongue. He climbs onto the bed at her feet and takes her left leg into his hands. He begins massaging up her thighs, and is entranced by how smooth her skin is. He comes abruptly back to his senses as her head falls back onto the bed and she lets out possibly the sexiest groan ever.   
“You were fucking amazing on that stage, Rach” he’s tracing that spot behind her knee that he discovered during Sophomore year, and he knows he’s saying and doing all the right things when her breath hitches in her throat again and she lets out the barest whisper of his name. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her entire body is on fire and he hasn’t really even touched her yet. His hands continue their journey up her thighs and they’re almost right where she needs them to be, when he stops.  
When he doesn’t immediately resume what he’s doing, she glares down at him only to see that the smug bastard is grinning up at her. “Rach, I want you to be sure about this. I won’t be a regret for you. I don’t want that at all.”   
The look on his face is so sincere and adorable. She knows hat he wants to make sure he won’t be another Finn. It’s so endearingly Noah, that all thoughts that she might have had about running from this (from them) seem distant in her mind.   
She pulls his lips up to hers and as she pulls away, she whispers “Noah, I’m yours,” into the space between them. The next thing she knows, her panties are gone and he’s rolling the latex from his wallet down his length and then he’s positioning himself at her entrance. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When he thrusts into her warm and welcoming heat, he’s not really surprised that she feels like home. And then she’s moving her hips up into his and telling him to move. He loses all train of thought. They’re loud, and she’s demanding, but he expected nothing less and never wants this to end. As she comes around him, she lets out a “Fuck, Noah...” and he’s a goner. There is literally no coming back from Rachel Berry.   
This is it.   
This is all he needs in life.  
He gets up to dispose of the condom, and then slides back into bed next to her. As she curls back into his body oh so naturally, he’s struck by a random, yet important thought. “Hey Rach?” he nudges her side. “Yeah?” she yawns. “How much of a scholarship were those NYU guys offering?”   
He feels her smile into his chest and then she tells him that they’ll talk about it in the morning when they meet those guys for breakfast.   
He knows that she knows that he just committed himself to going to New York with her when they graduate. And he knows to her that that means they’re going to work this thing between the two of them out when they return to Lima. And even if them being together in Lima didn’t work before, they’ve both worked on themselves a lot this summer, you might even say that they’ve turned over a new leaf.  
And after all, she said it best; she’s his and he knows he’s hers.   
Things just might work out after all.


End file.
